Knowing that I will probably need to/should replace my lines next season, i was happy to find that Realwatersports has the 2013 Naish Bar with 24m lines with above bar depower setup on sale for $199.

I'd rather have supported a local shop, but for the money i probably would've put off new lines purchase until something was obviously going to break, or had broken. And i get to put off the bar retrofitting experience for a little longer. I'm still a little mystified about the price range of replacement lines and various parts.

Brilliant marketing strategy: Make cheap lines that don't last a season; sell bar and lines for just a little more than replacement lines; sell kite complete package with added cost of bar and lines less than replacement lines...

I did a similar deal with them a few years ago--bought a brand new but model-year-old Naish Universal bar for the same price. The depower is below the bar, not above. That was my least favorite thing about the bar--I hated the depower. There was an obstacle in the way and it was incredibly hard to jam the line into the cleat--I think I actually hurt my shoulder as a result. They moved the obstacle the following year, but I still think that's an awkward position. I've moved on to an RRD bar where I reach up to pull the depower and I like it 1000% better.

On the bright side, the lines lasted 2+ seasons of regular use. So I feel like I got good use out of it, at least in terms of life-span.